Composite weatherstrip



April 22, 1.947. W R, MATHENY 2,419,322

COMPOS ITE WEATHERS TRIP Filed March 27, 1944 Patented Apr. 22, 1947 CDMPO SITE WEATHERS TRIP Willard It. Metheny, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Nellie F. Harnly, Chicago, Ill.

Appiication March 27, i944, Serial No. 528,213

2 Claims.

My invention is directed to an improved Weatherstrip material and relates particularly to such material which is to be congurated to irregular contours by curving the same therearound.

It is an important object of my invention to provide such a material so that when it is coniigurated to irregular objects the bending thereof Will not result in undesired distortion thereof,

particularly with regard 'to lateral expansion of y lcompressed parts.

In bending material of the above character for the purposes above set forth, one of the diiiiculties encountered arises from the fact that the inner layer or portion thereof is compressed during the bending action While the outer portion is Vstretched or elongated. As a result of this action an undesirable Weather sealing arrangement is attained since the compressed inner part at the curve tends also to be expressed laterally outside of the normal conlines of the side of the Weathershrip. This results in the strip assum ing an uneven curvature around .the object to which it is attached and also results in unde sirable eiects since the laterally outwardly expressed parts interfere with eiilcient operation.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide a weatherstrip having graded density and compressibility'throughout the depth thereof to avoid the above mentioned difficulties.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved weatherstrip material which has a principal body portion characterized by the presence of interstices and yet which is so constructed that moisture and the like cannot penetrate these interstices, thus to enhance the deterioration thereof.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved Weatherstripping material which, when formed in elongated strips may be bent, the part thereof which is normally compressed during the bending operation being formed so that it will compress longitudinaiiy ci the strip Without expanding laterally thereof during the compressing and bending action.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a weatherstrip construction having a main body portion formed from a resilient material having a plurality of interstices therein, `this material being of graded density throughout its depth so that it is in effect made up of such material having relative density on one side being progressively less dense throughout the depth thereof.

It is still another object of my invention to provide an improved weatherstrip material which is protected from the elements and strengthened in use by the provision of a protective,v impervious, resilient skin on the outer surface thereof.

In accordance with the general features of my invention there is provided herein an improved Weatherstrip material adaptable to be cut into elongated form, having a main body portion made up of sponge rubber or the like, this body portion being of greater density'on one side than on the opposite side and the intermediate portion being of graded density to aiTo'rd a structure hav'- ing one extreme portion thereof formed With a given density and the depth thereof being of graded density to provide for progressively increased compressibility, this Weatherstrip being also provided with an impervious, protective, strengthening skin which may be in the form of a latex coating and may also, if desired, include an intermediate exible fabric layer for reinforcing the entire structure.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become `apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a longitudinal cross-sectional View of a form of weatherstrip embodying my invention;

4 Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 except that the weatherstrip is shown in bent condition to conform to the edge of a door or the like;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing a inodiiied form of my invention;

`'igure 4'is a plan view of the curved portion shown in Figure 2; and

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of weatherstrip such as that shown in Figure' l., bent to form a bead or roll type iveatherstr'ip.

In the forni ci the invention shown in Figure l, the Weather'strip includes a main body portion le having a moisture impervious skin or coating ii thereon. This skin is preferably of rubber and is' applied in any .suitable manner such as by dipping or spraying. Thus it will be seen that the mere application of the rubber skin to the face or body portion lo results in a strongly adherent coating Which can withstand considerable' abuse and will completely protect the body i0 against the entrance of mois-ture and dirt.

While it will be understood that the present invention may be applied to many varying kinds of material such as felt or the like, the embodiment herein comprisesy Weatherstripping having a body formed from sponge rubber. The sponge rubber is so formed that it is o f graded density throughout its depth. Preferably the side to which theV skin or coating l I is applied is the out- 3 side of the weatherstrip and is thus exposed to the atmosphere. The body I is so formed that the portion thereof in the vicinity of the skin II is comparatively dense as at I2 and thus contains a larger proportion of rubber per unit volume. The intermediate portion of the body IIJ as shown at I3 is provided with larger interstices and is less dense than the outer stratum I2 while the inner portion I4 is quite loose and thus much more compressible than the portions I2 and I3. In this regard it will be noted that for illustrative purposes the densest portion I2 of the body I is shown on the drawings by denser markings while the less dense portions I3 and I4 are represented as lighter in the shading use.

Weatherstripping of the type here disclosed is ordinarily formed or cut into elongated strips which are then attached to the edges of closure members such as windows and doors, these strips normally following the contour of the edges and it being thus necessary to bend the strip when it is so used. In the past it has been found that when weatherstripping of this character is bent around corners of the closure member the inner portions at the bends tends to be expressed outwardly from the sides of the strip whereby inefficient weather sealing is obtained and whereby the general appearance of the resulting assembly is unsightly. Accordingly, to the end that these disadvantages may be avoided I have provided the above described structure.

When a strip of material is bent it will be found that the portion thereof closest to the center abo-ut which the bending occurs, is compressed while the portion thereof farthest from this center of bending is stressed or elongated. It is this phenomenon which causes the inner surface of elongated weatherstripping to compress laterally outwardly thus to provide an ineicient and untightly sealing assembly. As indicated previously, the portion I4 of the weatherstrip embodying my invention and which is that closest to the center of bending as shown in Figure 2, is formed to be highly compressible to a greater degree than the portions I2 and I3 thereof. rIhis being the case, it is found that when the weatherstripping shown in Figure 1 is bent as shown in Figure 2, the portion I5 thereof at the bend, which is that closest to the center of bending and that which would normally be extruded, is merely compressed in a direction longitudinally of the strip while the adjacent outer portion IB is slightly stretched to accommodate the curvature. It will be understood, of course, that the skin-like cover Il also stretches with this outer portion I6. Since the portion I5 when in its normal condition is highly compressible, it will be seen that the bending action is accomplished without any undue lateral expansion of this portion as a result of the bending operation. On the other hand, the denser outer portion I2 and the solid latex cover IS are less compressible and thus less expansible than the portion It and thus are slightly stretched as a cover over the portion I5, thus to provide a neat, tight, efficient fit around the corner of the object to which the weatherstrip is attached.

From Figure 2 this stressing action of the rub-v ber skin coating and the outer portion I2 will be clearly seen. From this figure it will be noted that the section of the weatherstripping I@ which overlies a straight side of the object to which it is attached is in the normal condition shown in Figure l. However, at the bent portion it will be seen that the outer portion I2 has now been stretched, as described` above, over the compressed zone I5.

From the foregoing it will be seen that there is provided herein a weatherstrip construction comprising a main body portion which is graded as to density throughout the depth thereof, the less dense portion I4 being disposed closest to the center of bending and that the outer portion I2, together with the solid sheeting I6 serves to bind or tightly hold the under parts of the weatherstripping tightly to the door or window frame at the portions which are bent around curvatures in the frame. Furthermore, the moisture impervious coating serves admirably to prevent moisture or dirt penetrating into the interstices of the body III be it formed from felt or sponge rubber.

As will be seen from Figure 4, which is a plan view looking down upon the curved portion of the weatherstripping shown in Figure 2, the under portion of the body IG maintains itself within the confines of the lateral extremities thereof during the bending operation.

In the construction shown in Figure 3, the body portion I'I is constructed similarly to that shown at l0 in Figures 1 and 2 in that it is provided with portions of different density as at I8, I9 and ZII. There may be also provided on the denser side I8 of the body Il a water and dirt impervious skin covering 2|. However, in this construction, in order that the strip may be reinforced, a layer` of fabric 22 is first disposed over the denser side of the body I'I. The fabric may be secured to the body I'I in any suitable manner such as by the use of a suitable adhesive or the like. Thereafter the cover 2l is applied over the fabric 22 by any suitable process such as by spraying or dipping or the like. If desired, the fabric 22 may be impregnated with rubber and then adhered directly to the body II.

When the construction of Figure 3 is bent as shown in Figure 2, the portions of different density in the body are subject to the same conditions as described in conjunction with Figure 2. Here again, due to the graded construction of the body I'I, the inner portion 2D does not expand laterally at the point of curvature since in this construction also the portion 20 is highly compres-y sible and may bev compressed longitudinally to shorten the distance of the inner side of the weatherstrip to accommodate the curvature.

From the foregoing it will be seen that there is provided herein an improved weatherstrip construction which is of a graded formation with respect to density whereby curvature of the weatherstrip around closure frames is facilitated. Furthermore, there is provided on the outer side of the strip a dirt and moisture impervious coating which increases the life thereof and also aids in hugging the weatherstrip to the frame on which it is attached, particularly at the curved parts thereof.

In the form of the invention shown in Figure 5, the stock used is constructed substantially similarly to that shown in Figure 1. In other Words, the outer part 23 of the main body of the weatherstrip is initially formed to be denser than the inner regions 24 and 25 respectively, the innermost region 25, being considerably more compressible and less dense than the regions 23 and 2d. Preferably the outermost, denser region 23 of the body is again provided with the moisture and dirt impervious coating 26,

In this construction it will be seen that the weatherstrip has been subjected to a somewhat severe bending operation to provide an outer bead and a radially extending flange part 2. Here again the initially loose, inner portion 25, when bent, forms a portion of greater density While the outer portions 23 and 24 have been stretched therearound. The portion of the Weatherstrip forming the flange 2l may be of any desired length, depending on the initial width of the strip and is made up of the two edges thereof disposed in face to face abutment and retained in this position either by mechanical means which secure the strip to the structure desired or by adhering the faces of the two sides together.

Another attribute of my invention as particularly exemplified in the construction of Figure 5 resides in the fact that the high degree cornpressibility of the inner portion 25 enablesV the weatherstripping to be distorted into the form shown Without impressing undue stresses upon the outer region of the strip. In other words, it will be seen that due to the high degree of compressibility of the inner portion 25, undue forces of expansion are not impressed upon the resilient coating 26 or upon the outer portions 23 during the bending operation. It will be understood, Yof course, that in constructing Weatherstripping as shown in Figure 5 elongated means may be made simply by deforming the strip transversely as distinguished from longitudinal distortion as shown in Figure 2.

I claim as follows:

1. As an article of manufacture, a weatherstrip including a beaded part and a radially extending flange thereon for attaching the beaded part to an article to be weatherstripped, said weatherstrip comprising a body strip of a resilient material of a consistency to provide a relatively loose, highly compressible portion on one side of the body strip and to be progressively less compressible and denser toward the other side of the strip, said strip being bent back upon itself to form the bead and the ange With the loose relatively highly compressible portion of the material at the inner side of the bead and the flange.

2. As an article of manufacture, a weatherstrip including a beaded part and a radially extending flange thereon for attaching the beaded part to an article to be Weatherstripped, said Weatherstrip comprising a body strip of a resilient material of a consistency to provide a relatively loose,

ighly oompressible portion on one side of the body strip and to be progressively less compressible and denser toward the other side of the strip, said strip being bent back upon itself to form the bead and the flange with the loose relatively highly compressib-le portion of the material at the inner side of the bead and the flange, there being a dirt and moisture impervious resilient skin on the outer denser side of the body strip.

WILLARD R. MATHENY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED f STATES PATENTS Yoxsimer i Feb. 18, 1944 

